Louisiana Dementia Training: NF/SCU-4

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative neurological disease that destroys a person’s memory and ability to function independently over time. It also makes communication with family members and caregivers increasingly challenging. As a caregiver, you will likely provide care to persons with Alzheimer’s disease and as such need to be knowledgeable about the disease process and care strategies. Your ultimate goal is improving quality of life.

In part 1 of this course, you will learn about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, the effects of it has on the brain, and the 3 main stages.

In part 2, you will learn strategies for person-centered care.

In part 3, you will learn how this disease affects communication skills as well as strategies you can use for verbal and non-verbal communication. You will also learn strategies for communicating with someone who is non-communicative.

In part 4, you will apply communication techniques to prevent and manage behaviors in persons with dementia.

Identify strategies and guidelines for communicating both verbally and non-verbally with those with Alzheimer’s disease.

Define validation therapy and state its usefulness when communicating with those who have Alzheimer’s disease.

Recognize the impact dementia has on the communication process.

Interpret what a person with dementia is trying to communicate through their behaviors.

Use communication techniques to prevent behaviors in persons with dementia.

Instructor: Elizabeth Kellerman, MSN, RN

Elizabeth Kellerman MSN, RN started in nursing in 2007 after graduating from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California. Her work in the critical care unit of a community hospital provided significant experience caring for older adults. Her experience and knowledge led her to nursing education where she taught at a community college while working to receive her Master’s in Nurse Education at Western Carolina University. As a nursing instructor, she spent time in many types of care settings including medical-surgical inpatient and community living centers. Her passion for education and training has most recently led her to a position as Subject Matter Expert and Content Writer for Relias.
Disclosure: Elizabeth Kellerman, MSN, RN has declared that no conflict of interest, Relevant Financial Relationship or Relevant Non-Financial Relationship exists.

Instructor: Jennifer W. Burks, R.N., M.S.N.

Jennifer W. Burks, R.N., M.S.N. earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Virginia in 1993, and her Master of Science in Nursing from The University of North Carolina, Greensboro in 1996. She has over 25 years of clinical and teaching experience, and her areas of expertise are critical care and home health. Her professional practice in education is guided by a philosophy borrowed from Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing, “I do not pretend to teach her how, I ask her to teach herself, and for this purpose, I venture to give her some hints.”
Disclosure: Jennifer W. Burks, R.N., M.S.N. has declared that no conflict of interest, Relevant Financial Relationship or Relevant Non-Financial Relationship exists.

Instructor: Jennifer Moore, RN-BC, DNS-CT, CDP

Jennifer Moore, RN-BC, DNS-CT, CDP started working in the senior care industry in 2000. She is a certified Gerontological Nurse, a Director of Nursing Services – Certified, and a Certified Dementia Practitioner. She has held positions including MDS Coordinator, Director of Nursing, Medicare Nurse Coordinator, Nurse Consultant, Area Manager, and Director of Quality Assurance. Her overall responsibility within each of these positions was to ensure residents received the highest quality of care. This included active participation in quality improvement initiatives, review of clinical records to identify areas of weakness, corroboration with the medical director to institute policies and procedures for resident care, and staff education/training. Additionally, she was responsible for maintaining an effective compliance program under a Quality of Care Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General for a period of five years. She currently serves as the manager of curriculum design for post-acute care for Relias. Within this position, her responsibility is to oversee the development of online training modules for the post-acute care industry. She has served as the subject matter expert for courses on re-hospitalization, clinical skill reviews, and various OSHA and regulatory compliance topics. In addition, she has presented at various state conferences on mandatory compliance, quality assessment and assurance (QA&A), and quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI).
Disclosure: Jennifer Moore, RN-BC, DNS-CT, CDP has declared that no conflict of interest, Relevant Financial Relationship or Relevant Non-Financial Relationship exists.

Target Audience:The target audience for this course is: intermediate level General Staff; in the following settings: Post-Acute Care.

Relias Learning will be transparent in disclosing if any commercial support, sponsorship or co-providership is present prior to the learner completing the course.

Relias Learning has a grievance policy in place to facilitate reports of dissatisfaction. Relias Learning will make every effort to resolve each grievance in a mutually satisfactory manner. In order to report a complaint or grievance please contact Relias Learning at support@reliaslearning.com.

Course Delivery Method and FormatAsynchronous Distance Learning with interactivity which includes quizzes with questions/answers, and posttests.

Relias strives to measurably improve the lives of the most vulnerable members of society and those who care for them by providing online analytics, assessments and learning across healthcare. The product of a merger between Silverchair Learning, Essential Learning, and Care2Learn, Relias delivers a breadth and depth of content unrivaled by its competitors. We provide flexible e-Learning solutions to meet your needs: Relias Academy for individuals, Relias Learning Management System for organizations, Enterprise solutions for large organizations and partnerships. Relias Learning is based in Cary, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.reliaslearning.com.